The morning glories and the sunflowers turn naturally toward the light, but we have to be taught, it seems.
Richard RohrOne time, a Protestant minister said, "We made Jesus blonde haired and blue eyed and very cute. We made Jesus somehow a much more feminine figure." And there's probably truth to that.
Richard RohrAll great spirituality teaches about letting go of what you donโt need and who you are not. Then, when you can get little enough and naked enough and poor enough, youโll find that the little place where you really are is ironically more than enough and is all that you need. At that place, you will have nothing to prove to anybody and nothing to protect. That place is called freedom. Itโs the freedom of the children of God. Such people can connect with everybody. They donโt feel the need to eliminate anybody . . .
Richard RohrI think most human beings are dualistic thinkers. It gets them through the day. It gives them a sense of superiority and security - that's what the ego wants.
Richard RohrWhen you haven't found inner meaning, you will always substitute outer performance. It's the only way to fill that void, that sense of significance - that I am significant. So almost the degree of outer performance can, in many cases, mirror the lack of inner alignment.
Richard RohrMy scientist friends have come up with things like 'principles of uncertainty' and dark holes. They're willing to live inside imagined hypotheses and theories. But many religious folks insist on answers that are always true. We love closure, resolution and clarity, while thinking that we are people of 'faith'! How strange that the very word 'faith' has come to mean its exact opposite.
Richard Rohr